This invention relates to pesticides that are substantially environmentally safe and are substantially non-toxic to large animals.
Yields in agriculture and in horticulture are limited by a number of agents and conditions. Among the agents and conditions affecting plant yields are insects, fungi and suboptimal soil.
A wide variety of man-made compositions have been used in agriculture and horticulture to control damaging insects and fungi. Further, a number of compositions have been used to improve suboptimal soil conditions, thereby accelerating plant growth.
Previously known pesticides have had a variety of problems. Many of these compositions are toxic to large animals, including man, in addition to being toxic to insects or fungi. Further, many compositions that function as pesticides accumulate in the environment to levels considered to be unsafe. In addition, many of these compositions have been found to contaminate natural sources of drinking water.
Such problems have lead the government to ban the use of many pesticides, including DDT, Chlorodane, Lindane, Aldrin, Heptachlor, Dieldrin and Mirex. Other compositions, though still in use, present varying degrees of unwanted toxicity.
Besides unwanted toxicity, presently known pesticides have other problems. They tend to be complex and expensive to produce, and many have disadvantageous storage requirements. Further, it is generally necessary to apply multiple pesticides to obtain satisfactory control of a variety of pests. This is necessary to avoid the labor costs of applying several individual pesticides in several separate applications, one at a time.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a single composition with activity against a broad range of pests but which is substantially non-toxic to large animals and which is environmentally safe. Further, it would be advantageous for the composition to also function as a plant growth accelerator. Ideally, such a composition would be easy and inexpensive to produce and to use.